I would like to acknowledge all those who have contributed during many years, to the discussion of the modifications to the existing policy suggested by this proposal.

Summary of Proposal:

Policy Document to be Affected: afpol-v6200407-000

This policy modification is intended to provide a solution for the lengthy discussions that have taken place in the different regions regarding existing IPv6 Policies. It also takes account of the changes that have already taken place in other Regional Internet Registry (RIR) service regions.

It is an alternative solution to the existing proposals around IPv6 Provider Independent (PI) assignments.

Often, some organizations need to make internal assignments. Their networks may be made up of a number of sites that each has their own L2 infrastructure. In some cases, organisations may have a small number of sites, but still need their own block so that they can avoid future renumbering, if they change their upstream provider or identify a need to become Multihomed.

One example might be a large university that has several campuses and faculties, each requiring IPv6 addresses. It may have one or several upstream providers. The university will most likely need to be able to assign IPv6 addresses from the same block to its sites and, at the same time, be able to use one or several upstreams. The university network behaves like an internal university ISP to each of the End Sites.

Draft Policy Text:

Existing section 5.1.1. (afpol-v6200407-000)

5.1.1. Initial allocation criteria

To qualify for an initial allocation of IPv6 address space, an organisation must:

a) be an LIR; b) not be an end site; c) show a detailed plan to provide IPv6 connectivity to organizations in the AfriNIC region. d) show a reasonable plan for making /48 IPv6 assignments to end sites in the AfriNIC region within twelve months. The LIR should also plan to announce the allocation as a single aggregated block in the inter-domain routing system within twelve months.

Proposed replacement text:

5.1.1. Initial allocation criteria

To qualify for an initial allocation of IPv6 address space, an organisation must:

a) be an LIR; b) show a detailed plan to provide IPv6 connectivity to organizations in the AfriNIC region. The organizations may be other organizations, but also own/related departments/entities/sites; c) show a reasonable plan for making /48 IPv6 assignments to end sites in the AfriNIC region within twelve months. The LIR should also plan to announce the allocation as a single aggregated block in the inter-domain routing system within twelve months.

Other text to be deleted from afpol-v6200407-000:

5.4.2. Assignment of multiple /48s to a single end site

When a single end site requires an additional /48 address block, it must request the assignment with documentation or materials that justify the request. Requests for multiple or additional /48s will be processed and reviewed (i.e., evaluation of justification) at the RIR level.

Note: There is no experience at the present time with the assignment of multiple /48s to the same end site. Having AfriNIC review all such assignments is intended to be a temporary measure until some experience has been gained and some common policies can be developed. In addition, additional work at defining policies in this space will likely be carried out in the near future.

Rationale:

a. Arguments Supporting the Proposal

There have been already clear examples and discussions in different regions about the need for this modification.

The difficulty encountered in receiving IPv6 address space by some big entities that have a need to use IPv6 is a clear barrier for its deployment.

b. Arguments Opposing the Proposal

One possible effect of this proposal would be a growth of global routing tables. This is only to be expected when new allocations are made possible under this proposal.